What are “certain employer communications”?

Today — right now, actually — the House Committee on Commerce and Labor are discussing a bill to “prohibit certain employer communications about political or religious matters.”

House Bill 1528 basically means employees would not have to attend, listen to, respond to or otherwise hear “certain communications” about political or religious views from their employers. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.

The bill is a battle between the Association of Washington Business and the AFL-CIO over employees’ right to unionize, among other things. One group says it would “trash First Amendment Rights,” while the other says it supports the First Amendment because it allows employers to talk but doesn’t require anyone to listen, just like when you step outside of work.

Below the jump: What AWB and the WSLC have to say.

The Washington State Labor Council says this is their top priority for 2009.

Here’s more: “Your boss can force you to attend a mandatory meeting to press his or her views on religion, politics, charitable giving, unionization and other matters of personal conscience. If you choose not to participate or listen, you can be disciplined or fired — and it’s totally legal.”

Meanwhile, the AWB says it’s a “gag rule” that is likely illegal. “The Supreme Court ruled (in California) that the law runs afoul of the First Amendment and the National Labor Relations Act.”

Here is a bit more. In a press release, AWB said: “In these tough economic times, as the unemployment rate rises to 7.1 percent and our state struggles with a projected $6 billion deficit, lawmakers need to focus on spurring the economy, creating jobs and dealing with a serious revenue hole and not on a bill that has already been ruled unconstitutional.”

Tags: Business, Public Policy, Unions